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Friday, May 5, 2017

Fiesta Placemats

Back in August 2014, I made some classy-looking placemats. I liked them a lot, but quickly found that it wasn't real smart choosing a light-colored linen background. A few splashes of red wine, and smears of red sauce, and very quickly they weren't nearly as attractive as they were when new.

Now, with new Fiestaware to set the table, it was time to replace those grungy-looking placemats. A phone chat about placemats with my quilty daughter-in-law, Lyn, prompted me to head to my solids stash (this is my year of working with solids) to come up with an assortment of hues.

After a little calculation, I decided to cut 35 - 3" X 3" squares to arrange each placemat five patches high by seven patches wide for a finish of 13" X 18".

Orange, being one of my favorite colors, was first to get attention. I color tested with a couple Fiestaware sandwich plates.

Then I played in my scraps and yardage of solids. Only stashed greens seemed a little lacking in blending options. I used the web technique to put each placemat together as though it was a mini quilt. Fast and done!

Wanting to keep the quilting fast too, I straight-line stitched using a matching thread color, mostly from a bobbin ring of Superior Threads from MassDrop. All quilting lines were marked with a Hera marker. I made 22 diagonal passes each direction, for a total of 44 quilting lines on each placemat. Batting is some very-long-time-leftover Warm and Natural.

It was fun picking backing prints with Florida-ish looks. I think the grandkids might like to use the placemats turned over.

I couldn't resist trying them on the table. I like!

Even going so far as to set the table to see how it looks. I like even more! Colorful!

Since using the dishes for a few weeks now, we've decided to add a few more pieces. Small bowls, for one thing... a butter dish, and possibly salt and pepper shakers. It's good to know that whatever colors I pick will coordinate.

Linda I love your new placemats and dishes! What a joy-filled way to have meals :o) Simple patchwork really is just the best. I clicked back to see your previous placemats and thought it was fun to discovery you'd used the Lines in the Sand pattern. That's what I used on the placemats I gifted at a bridal shower last summer (where I also used a light colored background...poor bride!) Anyway, we all learn as we go :o)

I love my Fiesta, even though it takes up a lot of room in the cabinet. They do discontinue colors, so if you want the additional pieces to match, get them now. We never have been placemat users, but I like yours. Print fabrics would hide stains better than solids.